Princess of Sparta
by TheMoonCake
Summary: The royal line of the Spartans of Ancient Greece still holds. The animosity between the Greek and Roman demigods are growing. Percy and the rest of the Argonauts (II) were away. A new prophesy is revealed. The war between Greeks and Romans will finally break out, but that's also when Mother Earth - Gaea - will spring her plan of destruction. Many fight scenes and warming romance.
1. The Prophesy

**The Prophesy of ****The Beginning and End**

_The crack is growing wider,_

_Destroying the two twins._

_The days will grow brighter._

_The heir the origin,_

_Of the beginning of the end_

_And the end of the beginning._


	2. Prologue

**Hey guys! It's a new story! Don't worry, I won't abandon 'The Romans Read The Last Olympian', but I just had this great idea and I couldn't wait to write it down. Sorry for the vague summary and upcoming prologue, but the first chapter will jump straight to the main character (my OC) and everything will be cleared. Also, what did you guys think about my awesome (ish) prophesy? Honestly, that was the hardest part. I can't rhyme. I'm a terrible poet. Oh well, it worked!**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was bored out of her mind.

She has no space left on her jeans to doodle on, and her nails were picked so clean and filed (with a knife) so smooth it looked like she just got a manicure. Rachel leaned back and yawned loudly. Realizing what she'd done, Rachel's green eyes grew wide and she sat up straight, only to remember that Annabeth Chase, her uptight best friend, was gone.

Slumping down again, she was relieved because she wouldn't have to sit through a lecture about respect. But Rachel was getting worried now. The Argonauts (II) had left for Camp Jupiter almost two weeks ago, yet they still haven't returned

"Um," Connor Stoll said awkwardly, "So… who's going to substitute for Annabeth, substituting for Percy?"

The councilors of each cabin were all gathered around the ping pong table, along with the oracle. No one knew exactly what to do, because their two best leaders were away, plus Jason Grace, who was kind of the leader in command for Annabeth when Percy was at the Roman camp.

"I hope they're okay…" Katie Gardner murmured.

Clarisse La Rue sneered, "Of course they're not okay! If they were, they would be back by now. Idiot."

Travis Stoll rolled his eyes at Clarisse and said in a bored tone, "Don't get your granny panties in a twist, Clare."

Clarisse glared at him, but her glare didn't last long before she went back to sharpening her knife.

Rachel frowned.

Katie had always been a more cheerful and optimistic person, and Travis had always been a big jokester (an obnoxious one, but nonetheless, he was still never this serious). Clarisse was still mean, but her glares never faltered. Now they were all different. Rachel sighed. Percy and Annabeth – and even Jason – had better get back quickly, or else the entire camp will be in either great turmoil, or everyone will be completely changed.

Rachel was about to reassure them that their leaders will be back soon, but instead she gasped loudly and her eyes shot wide open. This time, her eyes were glowing green, and murky green smoke was floating out of her mouth

In a raspy voice, she announced,

_The crack is growing wider,_

_Destroying the two twins._

_The days will grow brighter._

_The heir the origin,_

_Of the beginning of the end_

_And the end of the beginning._

Right after she said the last word, Rachel collapsed in her seat. The demigods all got up at once, some in a daze and some in frenzy. Katie and Lacey, the substitute for Piper of the Aphrodite cabin, raced to help Rachel, who was groggily sitting up.

"What did I say?" Rachel croaked, her throat slightly sore. She took a drink of water.

Will Solace recited the prophesy.

"Okay," Malcolm, the substitute for Annabeth, said, "'_The crack is growing wider_' must mean the crack between the Romans and us."

Clarisse growled when she heard the words 'Romans'. "Well, let it grow." She snorted.

Connor rolled his eyes at her and said, "It says _'Destroying the two twins'_, so if we let the crack grow, something will be destroyed.

"Shut up, Punk." Clarisse snarled.

Rachel spoke up, "No, Connor's right." Connor beamed proudly. "We don't know for sure what the oracle meant by the 'two twins', but 'destroying' in a prophesy is never a good thing. We should be cautious about this."

"Okay, let's skip that first. So the next line says '_The days will grow brighter_'. What do you guys think that means?" Will asked.

Lacey raised her hand quietly and said, "Um, isn't that a good thing? The days growing brighter sounds pretty good to me…"

Rachel pursed her lips, lost in her thoughts. "Usually, yes. But it just seems a bit… off. I mean, it's very vague, but also I don't think the oracle prophesizes about good things."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

"Oh!" Malcolm said, snapping his fingers. "The two twins are Greek and Rome! It has to be!"

Travis chuckled, "You're still on that line?"

Rachel smiled and said, "Good job, Malcolm. That makes sense. The rivalry between the Greeks and Romans will only destroy themselves."

"What about the next line?" Jake Mason asked, "_'The heir the origin_'. That doesn't make _any_ sense to me."

The room was quiet while everyone mulled that thought over.

"Well," Malcolm said slowly, "In math, the origin is the center. So the origin of the '_Beginning of the end / And the end of the beginning_' must mean that the 'heir', whoever that is, is in the center, or the cause, of the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning."

Everyone contemplated that for a moment. "You are brilliant, Malcolm!" Katie finally exclaimed, causing everyone to laugh. This was the first time in a while that the mood had returned to normal. Rachel laughed to herself. It was because of a prophesy that practically announced their doom.

"Hey guys, it's late now. Let's meet again tomorrow to try to understand the prophesy even more." Jake suggested, and everyone agreed as they filed out the doorway, content and excited about what they'd learned just then.

A new prophesy was revealed. Problem is, when will it take action?


	3. I

**I**

**MY BODYGUARDS GET EATEN ALIVE BY THE GROUND**

My ancestors have all been very powerful people.

Ever heard of the Spartan king Leonidas the Great – the supposed son of Zeus (Pfft, yeah, like the Greek gods are actually real)? Well he's my many-greats-grandfather. His wife – my many-greats-grandmother – Queen Gorgo, was a very wise woman who played a small but important role near the beginning of the Persian Wars. Her son, Pleistarchus continued the royal and pure line all the way from the 480s BC to… now.

Yes. I am a descendant of the royal line of Sparta. As far as anyone knows, I'm the only descendant of the Spartan royalties left. My publicity is quite big, being the last Spartan princess in the world, but I still don't think it was necessary for my mom to assign ten elite bodyguards for me. You might be wondering what a Spartan princess does.

Absolutely nothing – well, except for look pretty in front of cameras just because I'm a 'royalty'. Honestly, this Spartan Royalty thing is kind of like playing 'house'. It's useless and silly. The lucky royalties, without doing anything except be born into the royal family, gets loads of money that lasts lifetimes. It's like the Royal Family in England, except BC version, and in a tiny used-to-be city-state. My dad was the modern-day-Spartan-king until he died seventeen years ago, before I was born. The job of being the modern-day-Spartan-ruler was then passed on to my mom, who held the 'throne' for five years.

My mother has just recently passed away.

Now I'm cruising in my private jet from Athens, Greece, to Long Island, New York. I'm going to the summer camp she wanted me to go to so many years ago, but she'd always make up excuses so I wouldn't have to go. I used to be annoyed by my mom's overprotectiveness and her clinginess, but now the emptiness was causing me burning pain in my chest. Despite the terrible ache, I wish the pain would stay, because when it left, it would leave a giant hole in where it was and that would probably be worse.

My mom had assured me that the camp would take me in with open arms like I was part of their big family, but my mom still had never let me go until… yeah. When I'm now an orphan.

"Miss Taylor? We are preparing to land. Please fasten your seatbelt." A young stewardess said to me kindly. I gave her a tired smile and fastened my seatbelt.

The small window next to me reveals a medium-sized city with typical people in typical cars on typical streets. I sighed. My mom died a month ago, and I just barely recovered when her personal assistant (despite our family riches, my mom had always been a hard worker and was the CEO of some big car company) informed me I was to go to the summer camp – Camp Half-Blood. I know, right? What kind of a name is 'Camp Half-Blood'? What, is it for half Asians half Caucasians or something like that? But my mom wanted me to go there, so I will.

I was daydreaming about what the summer camp would be like (anything to keep my mind from wandering to my mother), when a giant bump in the sky made me jump a few inches in the air. My hands clenched the armrests and I struggled to stay in my seat.

After a few minutes, the airplane finally regained its smooth flight, but I still kept my fingers wound tightly around the armrests. My mom had died in a plane crash, and I wouldn't be riding in a plane now if I had a choice. Unfortunately, I didn't. God damn. I just thought back to mom. Oh crap, here comes the onslaught of sadness and heavy weight of all the responsibilities I'm inheriting. Trying to ignore the ringing pain in my chest, I thought about how I would have to line up extra community services to keep up a good image and call my publicist to arrange for photoshoots. Not to be selfish or anything, but, the last thing I care about is the community and how my image is to the rest of the world.

I looked out the window again and saw smooth gravel coming up really fast at me. We're finally landing. I can finally get off the scary airplane.

After an hour of going through airport security and baggage claim, I was finally out of the airport. I stepped out of the automatic doors and was immediately surrounded by my ten bodyguards. I gave them all dry smiles, but relented and let them escort me to the awaiting limousine. My bodyguards shoved aside some crazy, ambushing paparazzi, and I'm thankful for them at the moment.

We drove for a while before we finally reached the destination. I rolled down the shades and looked out the window.

Three words.

What.

The.

Fuck.

This has got to be a joke.

Nothing but green rolling hills extended throughout the entire area. In the limo, I could sense my bodyguards growing uneasy.

I pushed the car door open and jumped outside of the car before any of them could react. A second later, I was surrounded by my guards again. I rolled my eyes and walked towards the fields.

"Give me your phone, please." I said to one of my bodyguards. I don't have a phone. I know, lame, right? But my mom would never let me have one. She said it was to protect me. Well, I hardly think a phone would do me much damage. Also, my eyesight is 20/20, so sue me if I'm confused how I'm seventeen years old yet still phoneless.

The bodyguard handed me his sleek, black phone, and I called my mom's PA, Lena, with it. Lena picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lena?"

"Oh! Hey Charm! How are you? Are you at the summer camp yet?"

"Well, we are at the address, but there's nothing. At all."

"Oh, well that's weird. But your mother said to leave your bodyguards in the car and just walk straight to the giant Pine tree on the tallest hill."

I looked up, and sure enough, there was a giant Pine tree on a tall hill.

"Okay, thanks Le–"

Before I could finish, the phone was knocked out of my hand. Frowning, I looked up to see who had done that, and I saw a… tree branch?

I was sure there wasn't a tree beside me just a second ago.

My bodyguards shifted uneasily. They were probably freaked out, too.

"Guys, my mom said you guys have to go back in the car. I'll be fine." I said, bending down to pick up the phone. But right when my hand touched the phone, a root from underground shot up and tangled itself around my wrist. I screamed and jumped back, only to find that my ankles were rooted – literally – in place, too.

My bodyguards all ran to me, but none of them could reach me. A giant crevasse opened below their feet in a circle around me. In a snap, they were swallowed whole by the ground, and the crevasse closed up. Another screamed racked through my body, and I sobbed in terror.

I must be dreaming. This has to be a dream.

Goddamn, ten man were _eaten_ by the _earth_!

This is definitely a dream. With my free hand, I reached over to pinch my forearm.

This was not a dream.

Soft laughter filled the fields.

_You can't hide from me, child._

Scared out of my wits, I said something insanely intelligent, "W-wh-at?"

_You're mother tried to hide you. But you can't hide. I will always find you._

By that time, I had come up with an answer. Not a fortunate one, but not an absolutely impossible one either.

I was probably going insane.

Just probably.

Soft giggles rolled throughout the hills, but it was humourless.

_You're not going insane, child. You are simply finally opening your eyes._

"What does that mean?" I asked, curious now, because I'd already decided I was content with the idea that I was just crazy, and there wasn't really an invisible lady with a loud yet soft voice speaking to me, and that my bodyguards weren't buried alive under my feet.

_You will not win,_

The voice stated, ignoring my question. "Thanks for the support." I said drily. As if in answer, poison ivy sprouted from the ground (I really don't think that's physically possible) and climbed slowly up my arm and legs, then wrapped around my body. I tried to scream, but the leaves merely stuffed themselves in my mouth. I was so going to die.

Ignoring that, too, the voice said again, this time softer.

_You will perish like your small empire had ages ago, unless you join me._

Okay, now I think she's getting a bit personal. The ivies continued to curl around my face, leaving only my nose open, but I had a feeling they will soon get back to mummifying my nose, too.

_Olympus will fall, and you will too, soon…_

_Spartan Princess_.

With those last to words ringing in my ears, the roots uncurled themselves, and I keeled over with a terrible pain in my chest. This time, it was not because of personal loss. This time it was because of pure dread. Or possibly because of the effects of the poison ivies. Just saying.

Suddenly my skin magically heated up, soothing the itches the poison ivy gave me.

I felt dizzy.

The phone was still in my hand, and I could hear Lena desperately calling out to me.

"Hello? Hello! Charm! This is not funny! Charm!"

I'm so woozy.

I couldn't hear her anymore because pure blackness drowned out all my senses.


	4. II

**II**

**A DOOR HIGH-FIVES MY FACE**

Panic.

The first thing I felt when I came into consciousness was: Panic.

I sat straight up, the sheets sliding off my body. I saw black dots dancing in my vision, but unlike a normal person, I didn't wait until the black dots receded before jumping off the bed in alertness.

Something finally registered in my sleep-filled brain.

I was in a bed.

I don't remember getting mummified by poison ivies and blacking out… in a bed.

I inched away from the bed, in case it suddenly decided to spring to life and charge at me.

Hey, the ivies did it, the roots did it; why can't the bed do it too?

I looked around the place, surveying my surroundings. I was in a large house. It looked to be an infirmary, but I'm the only one in here. Huh. Shouldn't there be doctors and nurses walking around in their white coats and shrubs and ugly shoes? I looked out a nearby window. Oh. Right. It was night time. I glanced at my watch.

1:30 AM.

Hm. Okay, well I guess since no one's around to stop me, I can escape this weird place. I don't know why I was even here. Who carried me here, and why? Because last time I checked, I couldn't teleport.

My eyes searched frantically for the doors.

I spotted it, there, on the other side of the infirmary.

I ran towards it, and glorious music played from behind me. My door to freedom. It was right there.

_So close._

Then the doors slammed open, hitting me on the head and sending me sprawling across the floor.

_Yet so far_.

"Ow…" I whimpered, rubbing my back and my face.

"Oh my gods! I'm so sorry!" A deep voice cried anxiously. Before I could stand up myself, the guy picked me up by the arms and set me upright on my feet. Wow, he's strong.

I looked up to meet his eyes.

And tall.

His eyes were concerned but seeing that I was okay, his honey-coloured brown eyes twinkled with laughter. His lips twitched into a humourous grin, and I glared at him in return.

"Thanks for decorating my face with a giant purple patch." I said sarcastically, pointing at my forehead, which was definitely starting to bruise.

The guy laughed heartily. He had a nice, rumbly laugh. But that did not excuse the pain in my face.

"So, if you can just step aside, I will be off…" I trailed off, inching to the side. But the boy moved to block me.

"Hey!" I said, trying to push past him. A few more failed attempts later, I looked up into his laughing eyes again and said solemnly, "Don't make me take away your ability to conceive."

The guy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. I moved to knee him in the family jewels, and the boy leaped backwards, almost falling off the front porch. Laughing victoriously, I zipped past him and ran towards… darkness. Nothing except for cabins occupied the area. Damn.

I did not think this through.

I have no idea where I am.

And this was where the boy caught up to me and grabbed me by the waist, throwing me over his muscled shoulder and carrying me back to the infirmary with my face staring at his lower back.

I decided not to kick, because, I realized I must be in the summer camp - Camp Half-Blood.

Just to make sure, I asked tentatively, "Hey, is this Camp Half-Blood?"

The boy responded, "Yep. How'd you know?"

"My mom told me to come here." I replied simply.

As if sensing I wasn't up to talking about my mom, the boy said, "Cool."

After a few seconds of silence, I spoke up again. "So how did you find me?"

The boy climbed up the porch steps and entered the infirmary. "I was on patrol duty around seven hours ago when I saw you, mummified by ivies. By the way, how did you manage that?" The boy joked lightly, but I think he knows something really dangerous happened.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy. Anyway, why were you on patrol duty? Isn't this a summer camp? You know, for like, fun and games." I said, changing the subject.

"This isn't just some typical summer camp," the guy said seriously, setting me down gently on the bed I woke up in earlier.

I looked at him questioningly.

"Well, I guess I should just tell you. I'm sure with the 'crazy' stuff that happened to you, it won't be that hard for you to accept it."

"Accept what?"

"You know the Greek Myths?"

I stared at the boy cautiously and replied, "Yeah?"

"Well, they're real. All of them."

"What, so, the whole 'THIS IS SPARTAAAA' thing actually happened?" I asked, although I already know the answer to that. Yes, it did, in case you were wondering. Why do I know that? Because my brain is crammed full of my ancestors' history.

The boy gave me a weird look and said, "Yes, but, that's beside the point."

"Oh, so what's the point?"

"The Greek gods are real. Like, Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Hades, and etcetera."

We stared at each other seriously for five seconds before I lost it and burst out into laughter.

"Okay? So what are you saying? That my I'm a daughter of some old Greek god?" I asked, choking on my laughter. It took me a while to look up and see that the boy was not laughing along with me.

He gave me a tired look, and he looked like he'd done this to millions of people millions of times already.

I sighed.

"'Kay, fine, suppose it actually is the case for you, but for me, it's not. My parents were not gods." I said.

The boy frowned, confused. "So you've seen both your parents?" He asked.

"Well, not my dad, but that's because he died before I was born." I explained.

The boy nodded, seemingly understanding. "Ah, well, your mom was probably making up a cover story."

I groaned.

"Okay, fine, if what you say is true, then prove it." I challenged him.

The boy smiled at me and said, "Hey, it was already proven to you a while ago when you got mummified by poison ivies, and when you burnt the ivies to crisps."

I frowned, "Wait, what? I did not burn anything to crisps."

The boy cocked his head at me and frowned lightly but shrugged, "Okay, sure, but you _were_ mummified by poison ivies. And you were possibly attacked by something or someone."

I clenched my teeth, remembering the giant crevasse that swallowed my faithful bodyguards. "Yeah. The ground."

The boy looked at me inquiringly, "What? What happened?"

I studied him. His dirty-blonde hair was short and soft looking, like his warm eyes and concerned expression. I decided I can trust him, and he probably was right about the whole 'Greek gods' thing. I mean, my ancestors worshipped the Greek gods. Maybe they weren't all crazy. Maybe there really are Greek gods.

So I spilled.

I told him about how my mom had passed away and her last wish was for me to come here. I told him about how my wrists and ankles were rooted to the ground. I told him about how the ground opened up and my ten bodyguards fell in, except for me. I told him about how the ivies literally sprouted out of nowhere and nearly suffocated me. I told him about how the creepy voice spoke to me about Olympus falling, and me falling with it unless I joined her.

At the end, the boy was looking at me intensely. I dropped his gaze and felt heat burn my cheeks. I probably misjudged him. He was probably just fooling around, and now I sound like a lunatic.

Before I could get up and run away again, the boy spoke.

"So are you going to join her?"

I did not expect that. I blinked at him.

"I don't even know who she is, but she was threatening me, so mmm…. Probably not." I said, shrugging.

The boy grinned at me and I smiled warily back.

"Okay, well, since that's out of the way," the boy said, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

I chuckled lightly, "Cool, but, what do you guys do here?"

"We protect each other. This is basically a safe-haven for demigods – us."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I know it's a lot to take in at a time. I'll let you sleep now and I'll come back in the morning to give you a tour around the place." The boy said. He gave me one last smile before he turned to go.

When he reached the door, I called out, "Hey, one last thing."

The boy turned his head to look at me.

"Hi, I'm Charm Taylor. Pleasure to meet you. What's your name?" I said sweetly. My good manners would make my mom proud.

The boy gave me a bright smile. "Will Solace. The pleasure's all mine."

And with that, he was gone.

I blew out a breath and fell back down onto the fluffy pillow. I don't think I could sleep tonight with all these swirling thoughts in my mind about me being half human half god, or, what did he call it? Right. Demigod.

I'm a demigod.

I nearly got killed today.

My mom kept a huge secret from me.

I got a bit annoyed at that fact, but then I dismissed the feeling. My mom was probably doing it to keep me safe. After all, the creepy lady had talked about how my mom had tried to hide me. I wonder what the creepy lady was going to do, now that she'd found me.

But wait a minute.

That means I'm not even the Spartan Princess, because my supposed dad was, not my mom. I'm so confused.

Shaking the thoughts away, sleep finally came and I let myself fall into its warm and cozy embrace.


	5. III

**III**

**OF SPARTA**

**-WILL-**

I could barely sleep because I spent all night – or dawn – thinking about Charm. She looked a bit familiar, like some celebrity I've seen before on a magazine the Stoll twins stole from a nearby convenient store. But it was probably just because she had that otherworldly beauty that all celebrities seemed to possess. Charm also looked to be about my age, and she definitely did not look like she could be my half-sister… what? I notice little things like that. I'm very observant.

After breakfast, the war council gathered again around the ping pong table.

"So what have we learned yesterday?" Rachel asked, tapping her chin.

"_The crack is growing wider,_

_Destroying the two twins._

_The days will grow brighter._

_The heir the origin,_

_Of the beginning of the end_

_And the end of the beginning._

The gap between the Greeks and Romans are getting bigger, and that will destroy us both. The days will grow brighter… Not analyzed yet. The heir is the cause of the beginning of the end, and the end of the beginning." Malcolm reviewed.

"Right, so let's focus on '_The days will grow brighter_'." Jake said.

Everyone thought deeply for a while.

"I'm just guessing, but it could have something to do with Apollo." Malcolm concluded, looking at me.

I shrugged, "Nothing unusual is happening."

"Oh, Will, I heard there's a new girl." Lacey spoke up.

I nodded, thinking back to Charm. "Yeah, I found her suffocating in a shell of poison ivies. Except, the ivies were burnt… my siblings and I cleaned up her cuts and she's probably still sleeping in the infirmary now." I reported.

"Must be Gaea's doing." Travis muttered.

His twin, Connor, nodded but said, "But why would she take an interest in the new girl?"

We all shrugged. The girl was a mystery.

Rachel frowned and said thoughtfully, "You said the ivies were burnt?"

I nodded.

"Could that have anything to do with the days growing brighter?" She though out loud.

"Possibly, but we shouldn't do anything about that just yet." Katie said. We all nodded in agreement.

"So is she determined?" Malcolm asked.

"Nope," I said, "but she said her mother told her that her father died before she was born. Also, her mother told her to come here."

"Where's her mom?" Pollux asked.

"She passed away recently." I said awkwardly.

"Oh… well, whose kid do you think she is?" Rachel asked, changing the subject.

I thought for a moment, and was about to reply when Clarisse cut me off.

"Hey, if she somehow burnt those ivies, shouldn't she be, like, a daughter of Hephaestus or Apollo?"

I cringed mentally at that. Oh Hades no.

"Um, no," I said quickly. "She has black hair, so she's most likely not my half-sister. Definitely not."

Clarisse shrugged, not noticing my discomfort, "Okay, sure."

I felt my cheeks getting a bit red, and I looked down to try and cool off. What was wrong with me? I looked up and caught Lacey's mischievous look. She grinned at me and winked. Crap. Here comes the blush again.

"So… what, she could be another Leo?" Jake asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, she doesn't look like any of you guys. She's really slender. Um, no offense." I said quickly.

Jake shrugged and said, laughing, "Nah, I'd rather not be slender."

"Leo's skinny too," Malcolm offered.

"Okay, well, we'll probably find out tonight at dinner. Will, you're going to be her tour guide, okay?" Rachel said, and I nodded.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

All our heads swiveled to the person standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Um, hey. I'm guessing this isn't the bathroom." Charm said, looking adorable with a blush on her cheeks and her big, celadon green eyes wide in embarrassment.

"Hi!" Lacey piped up, breaking the awkward silence. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. What's your name?"

"Hello… I'm Charm Taylor." Charm said with a small wave. The demigods waved back, and I suppressed a laugh.

"What kind of a name is Charm?" Connor called out.

"Wow, bro, way to make her feel welcome." Travis said.

I looked back at Charm, who was rolling her strange-coloured eyes. "It's an awesome name."

I chuckled, "Sure." I got up and walked towards her. "Come on, I'll show you to the bathroom."

"Wait!" Clarisse cried out, "I will!"

Everyone groaned, causing Charm to look confused.

"No, I will. Come on Charm." I said hurriedly. Grabbing her wrist, I yanked her out the door with me and power-walked to the bathrooms.

"Um, what was that all about?" Charm asked, still confused.

I laughed, "Your welcome, for saving your life. Clarisse likes to dunk newbies' – AKA you – heads in the toilets."

Charm cringed visibly and I laughed harder. "So what were you guys doing, gathered around that ping pong table?"

"We were having a war council." I said.

Charm gave me a weird look. Right, she still wasn't completely used to this entire thing.

"I'll tell you later." With that, I pushed her gently into the ladies' bathroom and waited outside.

After she was finished – which I swear took thirty minutes – I led Charm around the camp, explaining things about the gods and her schedule here. I loved the look on her face when she saw the lava wall and the arenas where demigods were training at with all types of celestial bronze weapons.

I brought Charm to the storage shed and told her to pick a weapon. Her eyes glistened with excitement, causing me to laugh.

I handed her short blades, long blades, knives, daggers, spears, pikes, whips, and even bows, but none of them seemed to satisfy her. Charm was getting less enthusiastic and more annoyed.

Finally, something caught her eye.

Her eyes glittering with wonder, she reached out and tentatively picked up a sword buried in the back of the shed. Charm held the sword in her hands, gazing at it lovingly. It was a double ended sword. It had a grey leather hilt with a jagged blade on each side of the hilt. One of the blades is longer than the other and the two blades had intricate, golden engravings on them. The words were written in extravagant looking Ancient Greek and there was a symbol I did not understand. The words said: _Of Sparta_. The symbol looked like an upside down V.

Charm turned to me, her infectious smile making me grin along with her. "I love this."

I smiled back, although I was a bit surprised to see this sword. I've never seen it before, but I've seen a picture of it. This was Leonidas the Great's sword, the one he died with in the Battle of Thermopylae. We dug it up and brought it here around two centuries ago, and it was soon long forgotten.

"_Of Sparta_…" Charm read. "Is everything here written in Ancient Greece?"

"Yeah," I replied, surprised she even knew we used Ancient Greece, "How do you know this is in Ancient Greece?"

Charm looked up at me and stumbled over her words, "Oh, um, just a guess. I mean, this is, after all, a camp for Greek demigods…"

I gave her a weird look, but dropped the subject. "Okay, now, how do you feel about testing out your new blade?"

Charm jumped excitedly and squealed, "Yes! Let's do this!"

We grinned at each other and I ran after her to the sparring arena.

Clarisse was in the middle of a class when we entered the arena.

"Hey Clarisse," I called out to the big daughter of Ares, "New student."

Clarisse looked up at us and gave Charm an once-over. She was probably quite satisfied with what she saw, because although Charm was slender, she was pretty muscled-up.

"Charm Taylor, right?" Clarisse asked, walking over to us. Charm nodded. "Do you have any experience with swords?"

"Yep." Charm said automatically, shocking Clarisse and me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Um," Charm said, realizing what she'd said. "Well, I played with, um… toys…" She trailed off, fidgeting with the hem of her black tank-top.

"Sure…" Clarisse said, giving her a weird look.

"Well, take care, Charm. I'm gonna go back to my archery lesson." I said, giving Charm a pat on the shoulder. Charm waved at me as I left, and Clarisse led her to the group of students.

Charm seemed to be keeping some secrets, but at least one thing would be cleared – hopefully – tonight at the bonfire.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter, but this is sort of a bonus chapter to see what Will thinks about Charm.**


	6. IV

**IV**

**BEGINNER'S LUCK?**

I held the hilt of my double-ended sword tightly in my hands.

_Okay, Charm,_ I told myself,_ do not seem like you have experience in sword-fighting._

I didn't want them to ask questions about why I learned how to fight with a sword. So far, it seemed like no one here knew about my title and celebrity status, and I want it to stay that way. I don't want any special treatment here just because I'm a celebrity. But damn, these kids must be quite holed up to not even know me. Not trying to sound conceited or anything.

"Alright Newbie, give me your best shot. I'm going to see what level you are now so I can pair you up with someone." Clarisse said, bending down to pick up a random sword on the ground.

"Um… okay…" I mumbled, unsure of what I should do.

After a few seconds of just looking at each other, Clarisse glared at me and snapped, "Hit me!"

A few kids behind me snickered and my cheeks tinged pink. Reminding myself to keep an inexperienced façade, I gently tapped her with my doubled-ended sword. Clarisse rolled her eyes at me and, without warning, lunged at me with her sword. Without meaning to, my twelve years of training instincts kicked in and I deflected her slash with the flat of my blade.

_Disarm._

A voice in my head told me. It was my old secret trainer that only my mom and I knew about. He was as wise a man as he was old. Sadly, he passed away a few weeks after my mom.

Brushing the thoughts away, I focused on snapping my wrist to the right and whirling my sword in a rapid speed so the blade on the other end of the hilt smacked Clarisse's sword to the ground.

I stood back and looked up at Clarisse's surprised face.

Ah crap.

"Whoa! Aren't you a newbie?" A kid behind me shouted.

"Um… beginner's luck?" I said awkwardly.

Clarisse still eyed me warily.

She ended up placing me above the beginner's group, but it was still way too easy for me. But this time when I sparred with other demigods, I remembered to drown out my instincts and just measure up the same level of fighting skills as my opponent.

Even though by the end of the lesson, I was genuinely tired and sweaty and sore, Clarisse was still regarding me in a suspicious manner. Uh oh, this probably isn't that good for me.

We all walked out of the arena and I headed over to the canoe lake to learn how to… canoe… Well, at least _that_ seemed more like a typical summer camp activity.

After a few more activities like Arts & Crafts, Monster Learning class, Ancient Greek class, climbing the lava wall, – yep, they have a wall made out of lava – Will came back to collect me.

"It's time for dinner," he explained, when a horn blew and kids started heading over to a grand pavilion.

The smell coming from the pavilion was amazing. Will lead me over to a group of kids sitting at a large wooden table.

"Hey guys, this is Charm Taylor. She's undetermined." Will introduced me to the kids, who all smiled back at me and said 'hi'. "Charm, this is the Hermes Cabin. You will stay with them until we find out your godly parent, which hopefully will happen tonight. Have a good meal."

With that, Will left to go to his own table full of blonde kids.

"Welcome!" A boy who's around my age said cheerfully. He had curly brown hair and mischievous eyes.

Another boy, who looked identical to the first one, beckoned me over. "Sit down," He said.

I took a seat next a hyper looking girl with plain brown hair and light green eyes.

"Hi Charm! That's a cool name! My name is Tara. Tara Jacobs. It's nice to meet you!" She said giddily while grinning at me. Her grin was contagious, and I found myself smiling back at her.

"Hey, nice to meet you too. So you're a daughter of Hermes?" I asked.

"Nope," she said, frowning slightly, "I'm undetermined. That means I don't know who my godly parent is. Yet."

"Oh. Will you find out tonight?" I asked. She shrugged. "Wait, how do you know who your parent is?"

"Oh," Tara brightened up again and chuckled, "You'll see."

Suddenly, multi-coloured ladies came waltzing out from trees. Literally, the stepped out of the trees surrounding the pavilion. They came over and set down plates of steaming food in front of us. They also set down golden goblets.

I saw kids bending over and whispering to their goblets.

I turned to see Tara doing to same. "Um, why are you talking to your cup?" I whispered.

Tara looked up at me and giggled, "Oh, just say whatever drink you want to your goblet, and it will be there!"

I blinked but shrugged.

"Um… Strawberry-Kiwi Capri Sun…?" I muttered to my goblet, feeling silly as I did so. But I looked down and saw that the cup was filled with yellow-ish clear liquid, and it smelled just like the drink.

I took a delicate sip.

It tasted exactly the same.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Yeah, pretty cool, isn't it?" Tara said, drinking out of her own goblet. Suddenly, kids got up and walked to the big campfire right in the middle of the pavilion. The fire was a dull red colour and it danced in the whipping wind.

Tara got up and headed over there, so I followed her. Then, the campers proceeded to dump their food into the fire. What is this crazy ritual?

"We're offering to our godly parents right now, but since we both are undetermined, just ask the gods to claim you tonight." Tara explained to me. I nodded and whispered for the gods to claim me – feeling self-conscious. From the outside, people would probably think we were a bunch of mental asylum fugitives.

We went back to the table and finally started eating.

Everyone ate and chatted amongst themselves.

Tara turned to me and said, "So, how do you look Camp so far?"

"It's a lot to take in… but it's really great so far." I replied, and I meant it. All the activities had distracted me from thinking about my mom.

"I hope I get claimed tonight. You too." Tara said.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"One week only, but I'm pretty impatient. I really want my godly parent to just claim me already!" Tara sighed.

"I'm sure something will happen tonight," I reassured her, even though I had no idea how this whole 'claiming' system worked.

Before Tara could reply, a man on a horse came riding in. Wait. I saw that wrong. A man _connected_ to a horse came trotting in.

His torso and up was a man's torso, but his bottom was a horse's body. A centaur. But from what I recall, centaurs were quite wild and a bit dangerous. What was he doing here?

This is giving me a headache.

"Demigods!" The man bellowed, stomping his feet – excuse me – hoof on the pavilion ground.

The entire pavilion silenced.

"Today we welcome another demigod! Charm Taylor, come on up!"

All eyes turned to me as I slowly got out of my seat and trudged up the steps to the small stage the man-horse was on.

"Welcome, child. I am Chiron." The man-horse said.

The teachings from my tutors came flooding back into my brain. Chiron the centaur was a teacher. He taught Jason the Argonaut and many more heroes. I never would've known he was real.

"Hi," I said awkwardly.

"Hopefully, tonight you will be claimed." Chiron said. I nodded, unsure of what to do.

He said more quietly this time so only I could hear him, "I need to talk to you later." At the look on my face, he reassured me, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just want to go over some things with you about how you were found, mummified by ivies."

I nodded again, and the horrible memory came rushing back to me. My bodyguards. It all had seemed so surreal until this point. My loyal bodyguards were all dead… buried under ground.

"Okay, you may go sit down now–"

His sentence was cut off by multiple gasps.

I frowned, wondering what they were all gasping about.

I made eye contact with Tara, who smiled at me, but she had a confused look on her face. I give her a questioning look. She tentatively pointed above my head.

Slightly scared of what awaited me on my head, I looked up slowly just in time to see a glowing red symbol of an upside down V vanish in a puff of gold.

The deafening silence stretched on. I turned back to look at Chiron, who had a confused look on his face, but suddenly understanding flickered in his features, then his expression turned to horror.

What?

I'm so confused.

I know the upside down V was the symbol of Sparta, but why was it there, and what does it mean? I had a feeling this was the claiming. But who's my godly parent? Last time I checked, Sparta was not a god.

"Um…" I said awkwardly, shattering the silence.

That seemed to jolt Chiron out of his frozen stupor.

He cleared his throat and said in a grave voice, "All hail Charm Taylor, uh- Princess of Sparta."

Why was he announcing my heritage? That made no sense.

Another silence cloaked the pavilion, until Tara started cheering, soon joined in by the rest of the campers. The cheer was jovial and mighty, but it had a confused note to it.

After the cheering died down, Chiron led me down the stage and away from the campers, who resumed eating their food.

"Uh… so… who's my godly parent? Why did you just announce my heritage?" I asked, equally as baffled as the crowd, except probably for different reasons.

Chiron still had a grave look on his face, but he tried to mask it. "Child, your parents are–"

"Were," I interjected automatically, cringing.

"Were mortal…" Chiron said.

"Yeah, that's what I've been telling everyone. So what does that mean? Am I getting kicked out of this place?" I asked, panic rising within me.

"Of course not," Chiron said quickly, "You will stay. But you are an heir of Sparta."

"Yeah, I know…" I said slowly.

The centaur frowned and looked at the ground. "How had she not taken you yet?" Chiron asked, but he seemed to be asking himself.

"Well… I don't know who you're talking about, but my mom had been really good at sheltering me." I offered.

"And your mom…" Chiron said, turning back to look at me. "How come she didn't take her? She obviously was easier to find."

Now I was really confused.

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Sorry, I'll talk to you later. Go back to finish your dinner." Chiron said. With that, he trotted away, muttering to himself.

"Um… weird…" I mumbled to myself before heading back to the pavilion. I got stares as I walked back to my table, but they were just of curiosity, and soon the campers got back to eating and chatting normally. I sat back down next to Tara, who grinned at me.

"Well, you're claimed! But by an Ancient Greek city-state… weird. But still! You're claimed! Now finish your dinner. Campfire's in thirty minutes." Tara exclaimed. I nodded, still too confused to speak, and finished my food.


End file.
